To me, studying with music is the most fun method. But even if you have the original lyrics, and a translation, you don't always figure out everything. So I thought it would be a good idea if people explained their favourite songs in detail, as that makes awesome study material. I go through each verse and use this scheme:1. I give the original line2. I list new words3. I give annotations to less obvious stuff4. I write down the final translation

I'm not quite fond of grammar terms, but that actually is a good thing: I try to express it in plain words whenever my grammar skills fail me, making this more understandable to like-minded folks.So here it is, the song that made me start Japanese almost 2 years ago: 思い出はおっくせんまん

の works as a noun-linker here, so we have子供の頃 - child-の-time = childhoodやった事 - this is the past (Ta-Form) of やる which modifies the noun. A "done thing"やった事ある roughly translates as "I did something"よ is attached at the end of a sentence for emphasizing. Like a spoken exclamation mark. So we have:

色あせた is the past, and works as as a modifier for 記憶, so we have "a faded memory"だ is just the plain form of です = to be.帽子 means "cap" but 子 has no meaning and can be left out in compound words. 紅白帽 is a "red and white cap".頭に is easy: に marks the place, so it's "on my head".It's a faded memory; a red and white cap on my head---

とこ is a particle attatched to nouns that can be translated as "..and the like". の時に again means "the time when", the に-particle just marks the time.カレーとかの時に is freely translated "(the time) when (I ate) curry and stuff"銀のスプーン is silver-spoon(s), 目にあて is "on (my) eyes". Here the に-particle marks the place.

じゃ is a contracted では here. でも今じゃ is "but now.."も can be used as a subject-marker to mean "also". そんな事も忘れて uses 忘れる in て-Form because it's a conjunction to the following sentence, like an "and"But now I've forgotten all that,---

ように is a tricky one. It is attatched to a verb when saying "in order to" or "as if". 追われる is the passive form of 追う, and thus means "being chased". 追われるように can mean "in order to be chased" or - in this case - "like being chased". The に-particle marks the active object in a passive sentence (the "by"). So "like being chased by something".毎日 doesn't need a に-particles as it always specifies time. 生きてる is the (shortened) progressive form. The long form would be 生きている which translates as "(I am) living"

振り返っても uses the Te-From + も. It means even if [verb].. In this case it's used to mean "Even if I turn around" (in a figurative meaning).あの頃には uses は to mark "these times" as the subject of the sentence.戻れない is the negative potential of 戻る, so it's "I can't turn back"

雑誌に付いてきた is, again, a relative clause which means "..that came with magazines". It modifies 3Dメガネ. かけ is a continuative form (an ongoing process) with the same meaning as かけて.

Wearing the 3D glasses; That came with magazines---

ウルトラマン ウルトラマン セブンUltraman! Ultraman 7!---

大人になり 忘れてた記憶

大人 (otona) - adult忘れる (wasureru) - to forget

The adverbial form (ending on く or に) + なる means "to become..". 大人になり is a continuative form equivalent to なって, so it means "as becoming adult.."忘れてた is the same as 忘れていた, and modifies 記憶: a "forgotten memory".

鮮やかに is the adverbial form, and it modifies 蘇る which continues the former sentence. So it's "..revive vividly"The で-particle is appeneded to describe the means of something, so 腕で is "with arms". L字 just means the L-character. It can be translated (from context) "making an L with our arms"

Revive vividly; Making an L with our arms---

ウルトラマン ウルトラマン セブンUltraman! Ultraman 7!

でも今じゃそんな事も忘れてBut now I've forgotten all that

何かに追われるように 毎日生きてるAnd I am living each day; Like I'm being chased by something

あの頃 振り返る is just "to look back to those times"無邪気 in adverbial form modifies 笑える, which is the potential form of 笑う. So we have "being able to laugh innocently"

Now I just look back to those times; I was able to laugh innocently---

汚れも知らないままに

汚れ (yogore) - dirt知る (shiru) - to know, to be aware

This one is tricky, as it sounds odd when translated literally. 汚れも is the subject "also filthy (things).."知らない is the plain negative of する, and appending まま makes it a state of being. "also not being aware of filthy things", which can be transcribed as

Unaware of inpure things---

ウルトラマン ウルトラマン セブンUltraman! Ultraman 7!

でも今じゃそんな事も忘れてBut now I've forgotten all that

何かに追われるように 毎日生きてるAnd I am living each day; Like I'm being chased by something---

見過ごしてた景色は 億千万 億千万

見過ごす (misugosu) - to let pass, to overlook景色 (keshiki) - scenery

I am guessing that this is a short form of 見過ごしていた, and the い is ommited. It makes 見過ごしてた景色 "the overlooked scenery".

The scenery I've overlooked was; 110 Billion! 110 Billion!---

過ぎ去りし季節は グラフィティThe seasons that have passed were graffiti.

君がくれた勇気は 億千万 億千万The courage you gave me is; 110 Million! 110 Million!

過ぎ去りし季節は ドラマティックThe seasons that have passed were dramatic

Phew, that was a good bunch of work. I wasn't sure many times, and I guess it's also full of mistakes. I'll edit out any if someone spots them.

Edit 1: Thanks Yudan Taiteki for pointing out the first bunch of errors!

Last edited by Chase on Fri 01.09.2009 8:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

I see I can't motivate anyone to translate a whole song like this - I know it's a lot of work.How about you start off with a single line or two, and maybe someone else will continue? There's no need to do the same I did, the thought behind this was simply learning with Japanese music! Onegai shimasu!

Although two notes about that:1. いつ is not normally written in kanji (何時 is generally read なんじ and means "what time")2. いつもしなかった is not the correct way to say "I have never played that game" -- you can say either あのゲームをしていない or あのゲームをしたことない (する could also be replaced by やる).

Chase wrote:As 帽子 means "cap", I'd guess that 帽 is a little slang. 紅白帽 is a "red and white cap".

It's not slang. 帽子 is a straight borrowing from Chinese, where 子 has no meaning and is just added to the word in order to avoid a one-syllable word, but you don't need the 子 when it's in a compound where there are other words already there.

振り返っても uses the Te-From + も. This indicates that something "is ok to do". In this case it's used to mean "Even if I turn around" (in a figurative meaning).

ても does not mean "OK to do"; てもいい means "OK to do."

Verbても means "Even if [verb]".

で at the end marks the means of an action. So 答えはぼやけたままで would mean "with the answer still unclear", but in English a verb works much better.

This is not the particle で marking the means of an action, it's the -te form of the copula (だ). Your English translation is still fine, but grammatically it's different.

過ぎ去るし is the masu-stem of 過ぎ去る + し, which I accepted as a static expression describing something that has passed.

It's an archaic form; the modern Japanese would be 過ぎ去った.

雑誌に付いてきた is, again, a relative clause which means "..that came with magazines". It modifies 3Dメガネ. From my understanding it should actually be 3Dメガネをかけた.

Why assume your understanding is better than the native speakers who wrote the song?

The を is not necessary, and in this case かけ is a continuative form with the same meaning as かけて, not かけた.

The adverbial form (ending on く or に) + なる means "to become..". 大人になり ends on the masu-stem, so it means "as becoming adult.."

Again, this is a continuative form equivalent to なって.

The second part would be clear if it was 忘れた記憶, a "forgotten memory". I have no idea what the て does in there. 's probably emphasizing the process of forgetting.

忘れてた = 忘れていた. "Memories we had forgotten" instead of "Memories we forgot."

Yudan Taiteki wrote:Why assume your understanding is better than the native speakers who wrote the song?

No, I never said that! I just wanted to make clear my "level" of thinking. My language skills were obviously insufficient for a task like this, I just wanted to understand this particular song very badly